U of T Cities podcast episode two: the future of transit

U of T News is presenting a mini-series of podcasts aimed at giving voters – or anyone interested in the future of cities – an idea of what Toronto and other global cities could look like just a few years from now, as the urban-focused research and businesses developed by University of Toronto experts come to life.

Last week, U of T News launched the U of T Cities podcast with an episode on the future of traffic, sharing stories of artificially intelligent traffic lights, human-powered car-bikes and an undergraduate class doing ground-breaking research on the municipal election. (Find the first podcast episode here)

The second episode is all about transit. You can download or stream the full episode here:

(Click the down-pointing arrow button in the player to download episode and transfer to your listening device. Transcript available here. Now available on iTunes.)

Click through to find other installments of the miniseries on the future of traffic (episode one here) and building sustainable cities (episode three here). Final episode will be published on October 27.

PART ONE: HOW TO GET REAL ABOUT IMPROVING TRANSIT
Civil engineering’s Professor Eric Miller (pictured above) is the go-to commentator for transit planning issues in Toronto.

In the first part of this episode, Miller explains why he has such a clear picture of the kind of transit plans that will work – and the ones that won't.

He also shares a cautiously optimistic forecast for specific transit upgrades in the next few years – and one very pragmatic wish for the future of transit.

PART TWO: DREAMING A NEW DESIGN FOR TRANSIT BEYOND THE CORE

 

PART THREE: LAUNCHING A CROWDFUNDED ALTERNATIVE TO THE TTC
Alumni Taylor Scollon and Brett Chang want to make the commute along King Street an easy ride. They plan to leverage the frustration of many King streetcar riders into a crowdfunded option that will run alongside the TTC.

Their startup, Line Six, ran a week-long pilot of a crowdfunded, privately-run express bus through Liberty Village. (Read more about Line Six)

Scollon explains the company’s grand plans for private transit in Toronto and how his background in philosophy at U of T helped prepare him for building a business outside the box.